Quick to make and incredibly irresistible, this is a vegan alternative to pepper shrimp, and a star in its own right. The sauce is stickier here, so that it clings to the crunchy tofu. Add it to a bowl of rice to turn it into a meal; and it’s so good with pickled green onions, that recipe’s here, too.
Peppered Tofu
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients:
- 7 oz/200g firm tofu, drained
- ¾ cup/80g cornstarch
- 1½ tsp fine sea salt
- 2 tablespoons sweet paprika
- Sunflower oil, for deep-frying
- 3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon light or dark brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1 Scotch bonnet, seeded and thinly sliced
- 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 3 green onions, thinly sliced
Procedure:
- First, drain the tofu (to ensure maximum crispiness). Wrap it in a clean kitchen towel or in paper towels. Place it on a large plate or chopping board, then place another chopping board on top. Pop something heavy on top of that—I use two or three cookbooks, but bags of flour or a few cans will do. Let press for 20–30 minutes.
- Reserve ½ tablespoon of the cornstarch, then tip the remainder into a mixing bowl. Add the salt and half the paprika to the bowl and mix. Set aside.
- Half-fill a medium–large frying pan with oil and place it on medium–high heat. Cut your drained tofu into roughly ¾-inch/2cm cubes, place the cubes in the bowl with the flour mixture, and stir to coat. Dust off the excess and add a test cube to the hot oil—if it bubbles, you’re good to go.
- Turn the heat down to medium and fry the cubes in batches, turning, for 3–4 minutes, until crisp all over. Remove each batch with a slotted spoon and set the pieces aside on a plate lined with paper towels, to drain the excess oil. Repeat until all the pieces are cooked, topping up the oil and bringing it back to frying temperature as needed.
- While your tofu is cooking, in a small bowl, mix the vinegar, olive oil, reserved ½ tablespoon of cornstarch, remaining paprika, and the sugar and water and whisk to combine. Set aside.
- Once you have finished frying the tofu, remove all but 1 tablespoon of the oil from the frying pan. Place the pan back on medium heat and add the Scotch bonnet, garlic, and green onions. Cook for 1 minute, then add your whisked sauce. Cook until the sauce is honey-like in consistency and the garlic and onions are softening. Add the fried tofu back into the pan and stir to coat and warm through. Serve immediately.
Pickled Green Onions
Ingredients:
- ½ cup/120ml apple cider vinegar
- 3 tablespoon light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- ¼ cup/60ml water
- 1 bunch of green onions, trimmed and sliced
- 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
Procedure:
- Combine the vinegar, brown sugar, salt, and water in a small saucepan on medium–low heat. Once the mixture is at a rolling boil, turn the heat down to a simmer and add the green onions and mustard seeds. Stir to combine and cook for 2–3 minutes. Then, take the pan off the heat and let the onions cool. Place the liquid and onions into a sterilized jar, if you wish, and keep for up to four weeks in fridge—although they rarely last that long for me!
Both recipes excerpted with permission from Kin: Caribbean Recipes for the Modern Kitchen by Marie Mitchell.